🇬🇧🤓 SOME OF MY FAVOURITE IDIOMS 🤓🇬🇧
Privet, ladies and gentlemen 🤝🏻 The problem with idioms is that many sources can be misleading or void of vital information when it comes to their usage. Heck, i saw loads of inaccuracies in Instagram just today. But help is at hand. Here are 10 very common idioms with proper examples to help boost your vocab bank; done by an English gastarbeiter ✌🏻😎
✅ THE BALL'S IN YOUR COURT (= it's now your move/responsibility)
👉🏻 "My darling, we need to save our marriage. I've been to the shrink, I've started showering and wearing clean clothes to be more attractive for you. I've stopped eating my toe-nails. Heck, I've even stopped smoking. I've tried everything. Now the ball is in your court!"
✅ A BLESSING IN DISGUISE (= an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results)
👉🏻 "My girlfriend has left me and I don't know what to do now!" - "Mate, see it as a blessing in disguise. You're now free and can find someone 10 times better and who doesn't have a beard."
✅ TO BE CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE (= in a difficult situation where you have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action)
👉🏻 "My love, that's not fair; you want to bring your annoying mum on our luxurious Mediterranean cruise and if I refuse, you'll divorce me. Do you see that I'm caught between a rock and a hard place here?
✅ DON'T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB (= used as a humorous way of recommending someone not to pursue something at which they are unlikely to be successful)
👉🏻 "Did you like my rendition of Prodigy's Smack my Bitch Up in an Italian opera style?" - "Seriously, don't give up your day job!"
✅ IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO (= said when you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame)
👉🏻 "Why is everything always my fault? You can't rest the blame of our relationship failure solely on me. It takes two to Tango, you know? So look at yourself a bit, love!"
✅ THE FINAL STRAW (= the last in a series of unpleasant events that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation)
👉🏻 "My girlfriend cheating on me, losing my job, my dream holiday being cancelled because the travel company went bust, and I discover someone has drunk my Coke in the fridge! That was the last straw. Really."
✅ NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK (= mentally deficient)
👉🏻 "No my darling, I don't want your mother babysitting our kids anymore. She's not exactly playing with a full deck these days and I'm worried she might say or do something wrong... or both."
✅ TO HAVE A CHIP ON ONE'S SHOULDER (= to seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other people)
👉🏻 "You are so bitter towards everyone, stand-offish and generally aggressive. What have they don't to you? You have a serious chip on your shoulder! Stop thinking the world hates you! Sort yourself out!"
✅ TO GET ONE'S ACT TOGETHER (syn: SORT YOUR S**T OUT) (= to organize yourself so that you do things in an effective way - quite negative)
👉🏻 "You're on the verge of losing your job and your wife is about to dump you. Mate, seriously, get your act together! Put down the beer and computer games and grow some bollocks!"
✅ TO GO COLD TURKEY (= to withdraw suddenly and completely from an addictive substance or some other form of dependency)
👉🏻 I often find the best way to quit smoking is not to cut down on the number of fags you smoke but to simply go cold turkey. Just stop at once.
😎 If there are some idioms you are particular fond of, share them below with examples. I can correct their usage if necessary 🤗
